Dukes or Kookaburra - Which ball will be used for the WTC final between India and Australia?

The World Test Championship (WTC) Final will take place between India and Australia at The Oval from June 7 onwards. With the contest taking place in a neutral venue, there has been early talk surrounding the conditions and the rule changes.

The International Cricket Committee (ICC) confirmed the scrapping of the soft signal rule and the presence of a reserve day much like the previous edition, where rain played a major part.

Another key aspect comes down to which type of ball will be used for the high-octane encounter. While former Australia skipper Ricky Ponting recently stated that the teams will be using the Australian-manufactured Kookaburra ball, a BCCI official has refuted those claims and confirmed that the Duke's ball will be used instead. He told InsideSport:

“No, we are playing with Dukes. Our guys have already begun practice with Dukes. The pacers were given Dukes during IPL to prepare for the final. We haven’t heard anything about the change of ball. I don’t know from where Ponting picked that up.”

The Duke's ball, with its extra lacquer and traditional blood cherry shade, retains shine for a longer period, allowing swing bowling upto 60 overs. The use of Duke's ball coupled with the swing friendly conditions in England, should bring the pacers across both teams into play.

The feedback regarding the Duke's ball has not been optimal in the recent past, which the manufacturer Dilip Jajodia put down to the use of substitute chemicals due to COVID-19. However, he has assured that the balls will be of the highest quality for the upcoming English summer, comprising England's one-off Test against Ireland, the WTC final as well as The Ashes.

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Team India support staff and select players have departed for England ahead of WTC Final

Following the culmination of the 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) league stage, Team India are preparing to depart for England in batches for the WTC Final.

The likes of Axar Patel and Shardul Thakur have already left for England in the early hours of Tuesday, May 23 alongwith the support staff. Senior players Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ravichandran Ashwin are slated to join the setup soon.

Players who are currently involved in the playoffs will depart right after the IPL final on Sunday, May 28. With no warm-up games scheduled in the first week of June, there is a possibility of an intra-squad match to help the players adjust to red-ball after a hectic T20 season.